Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Max & his Fish & Chips
Max was 'quite' pleased with his efforts, I thought he did fab, hope it goes well at school on Thursday!
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Sunday, 26 June 2011
Homemade Fudge
Just made some fudge to take to the Colemans. (Sorry Paula!)
A bit of a crumbly one today, still don't understand how you can use exactly the same recipe time and time again and the results are different everytime!
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A bit of a crumbly one today, still don't understand how you can use exactly the same recipe time and time again and the results are different everytime!
Making Fish and Chips with Max
Off to the Coleman's for Fish & Chip Supper - the catch? I'm showing Max how to make it for a task he's doing at school this week - hope it's a success!
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Eating Out!
We had a stay at The Keswick Country House last night. Dinner was lovely Chicken Liver Parfait and Pheasant wrapped in Bacon for me and Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup and the same main for Duncan, all lovely. I resisted dessert but Duncan enjoyed Chocolate Pudding & Custard.
Tonight I'm at Jill's for supper, looking forward to it, just hoping she's off the detox diet otherwise it will be loads of protein and water. Will take a bottle of wine just in case!
Tonight I'm at Jill's for supper, looking forward to it, just hoping she's off the detox diet otherwise it will be loads of protein and water. Will take a bottle of wine just in case!
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Raspberry & Thyme Custard Tart
The final pudding recipe from the Royal Wedding party (at last). I saw this recipe in Delicious magazine a while ago but I'm not a great fan of custard tarts so haven't made it before - wish I had its a really tasty light desert. Try now - raspberries should be at their best.
For the pastry beat 100g unsalted butter with 100g caster sugar until fluffy then gradually beat in 2 large egg yolks. Add 200g plain flour and a pinch of salt and mix to form a dough. Knead briefly then wrap in cling film and chill for at least 10 mins.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees, gas mark 6. Roll out pastry to fit a deep (3cm) 23 cm fluted tart tin. Prick pastry all over then line with baking paper and baking beans. Place on a baking sheet and blind bake for 10 mins. Remove paper and beans and bake for a further 5 mins until golden and crispy.
To make the custard whisk 2 large eggs and 3 large egg yolks with 125g caster sugar, seeds from 1 vanilla pod and 2 teaspoons of cornflour. Heat 600ml double cream with 3 sprigs of thyme in a pan until almost boiling then pour over the egg mixture and stir to make a custard.
Reduce the oven temperature to 180 degrees, gas mark 4. Strain the custard into the pastry case and sprinkle over 120g fresh raspberries and 2 thyme sprigs, leaves stripped. Bake for 25-30 miutes until lightly set.
Leave to cool slightly, remove from the tin and serve warm or at room temperature garnished with a few extra raspberries and some creme fraiche.
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For the pastry beat 100g unsalted butter with 100g caster sugar until fluffy then gradually beat in 2 large egg yolks. Add 200g plain flour and a pinch of salt and mix to form a dough. Knead briefly then wrap in cling film and chill for at least 10 mins.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees, gas mark 6. Roll out pastry to fit a deep (3cm) 23 cm fluted tart tin. Prick pastry all over then line with baking paper and baking beans. Place on a baking sheet and blind bake for 10 mins. Remove paper and beans and bake for a further 5 mins until golden and crispy.
To make the custard whisk 2 large eggs and 3 large egg yolks with 125g caster sugar, seeds from 1 vanilla pod and 2 teaspoons of cornflour. Heat 600ml double cream with 3 sprigs of thyme in a pan until almost boiling then pour over the egg mixture and stir to make a custard.
Reduce the oven temperature to 180 degrees, gas mark 4. Strain the custard into the pastry case and sprinkle over 120g fresh raspberries and 2 thyme sprigs, leaves stripped. Bake for 25-30 miutes until lightly set.
Leave to cool slightly, remove from the tin and serve warm or at room temperature garnished with a few extra raspberries and some creme fraiche.
Friday, 17 June 2011
Friday Night Fish & Chips
Home made beer battered fish and chips for Friday tea - not very healthy but very tasty!
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Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Sachertorte Recipe
I made this for the 'RoyalWedding Party' for the first time, it's the best chocolate cake I've ever made and what's even better is it can be made up to 7 days in advance. The recipe is taken from Green & Black's Chocolate Recipes - hope you'll try it and let me know what you think.
Ingredients for the Torte
melted butter for greasing
200g dark chocolate (min 60% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
6 eggs
310g granulated sugar
150g ground almonds
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground coffee
6 tablespoons apricot jam
Ingredients for the Icing
100g dark chocolate (min 60% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
40g unsalted butter
Preheat oven to 180 degrees, gas mark 4 and grease a 23cm (9") springform cake tin
To make the torte, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Separate 5 of the eggs, whisk the yolks and the whole egg and the sugar until the mixture is thick and creamy.
In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until stiff.
Add the ground almonds, coffee grounds and melted chocolate to the egg yolk mixture and stir well. Gently fold in the egg whites and pour into the prepared tin.
Bake for 1 hour, covering the cake with foil after 40 mins to prevent the top from burning. Check that a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean and remove the cake from the oven. Release the springform ring and leave the cake on the base to cool on a wire rack.
Melt the apricot jam over a low heat, strain and brush over the cooled cake.
For the icing, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Add the butter and stir until it has the consistency of thick pouring cream. Pour evenly over the cake, smooth over the top and sides, leave to set.
Ingredients for the Torte
melted butter for greasing
200g dark chocolate (min 60% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
6 eggs
310g granulated sugar
150g ground almonds
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground coffee
6 tablespoons apricot jam
Ingredients for the Icing
100g dark chocolate (min 60% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
40g unsalted butter
Preheat oven to 180 degrees, gas mark 4 and grease a 23cm (9") springform cake tin
To make the torte, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Separate 5 of the eggs, whisk the yolks and the whole egg and the sugar until the mixture is thick and creamy.
In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until stiff.
Add the ground almonds, coffee grounds and melted chocolate to the egg yolk mixture and stir well. Gently fold in the egg whites and pour into the prepared tin.
Bake for 1 hour, covering the cake with foil after 40 mins to prevent the top from burning. Check that a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean and remove the cake from the oven. Release the springform ring and leave the cake on the base to cool on a wire rack.
Melt the apricot jam over a low heat, strain and brush over the cooled cake.
For the icing, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Add the butter and stir until it has the consistency of thick pouring cream. Pour evenly over the cake, smooth over the top and sides, leave to set.
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Tropical Pavlova Cake
This is a great Summer pudding, the recipe is taken from Homes & Gardens March 2008, I've made it a few times now and it's always a success, the recipe serves 8-10 people - here's the ingredients:
4 large eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon cornflour
200g caster sugar
Filling
10 passionfruit, halved
300g fresh mango flesh, skinned and chopped into strips and cubes (must be ripe)
50g vanilla sugar
Topping
400ml double cream
200g thick Greek natural yoghurt
Freshly grated nutmeg
Pre-heat oven to 150 degrees, Gas Mark 2 and line a baking sheet with non-stick Teflon paper or silicone paper and sprinkle with water. In a large bowl whisk the egg whites and salt to form a soft foam. Continue whisking, adding the vinegar and cornflour and half the caster sugar until stiff peaks form. Add the final amount of sugar and continue whisking to a glossy, stiff meringue. Smooth the meringue into a 25cm round making it slightly concave in the middle. Reduce the oven to 125 degrees, Gas Mark 1 and bake for 1 hour or until the meringue is crusty, firm and pale, turn the oven off and leave to cool in the oven for 1 hour.
Scoop the passionfruit pulp into a blender, blitz for 5 seconds then pass the liquid through a sieve and discard the seeds. Return the liquid to the blender, add half the mango and blend to a puree. Put the vanilla sugar and half the mango puree into a saucepan with the egg yolks. Heat and stir constantly over a medium heat for 5 mins until a thick creamy sauce forms, cool over ice then fold in the remaining mango puree.
At serving time (if you have enough fridge space you can do this several hours before without any problem), whisk the cream until thick, fold in the yoghurt. Spread the pavlova with the puree, scatter the remaining mango pieces round the edges and smooth the cream and yoghurt mixture over most of the top, dust with nutmeg.
Sunday, 1 May 2011
Royal Wedding Puddings!
Well - all my pudidngs went down a storm at the Royal Wedding Party on Friday, none left for the boys when they arrived later in the day!
Will be posting recipes over this week for Mango & Passion Fruit Pavlova
Sachertorte
Raspberry & Thyme Custard Tarts - delicious.
Will be posting recipes over this week for Mango & Passion Fruit Pavlova
Sachertorte
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Raymond Blanc's Chicken Liver Parfait
This was a real success at Jill's Royal Wedding Party yesterday, served with Brioche - divine!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chicken_liver_parfait_53623
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
Chilli Bolognese Supper
Just a simple chilli bolognese tonight, in our house we call it chilli if we have it with rice and bolognese if we have it with pasta! It's healthy if I cook, unhealthy (and usually a bit spicier) if Duncan's in the kitchen!
Just out of the oven for Friday's Royal Wedding Party is Raymond Blanc's Chicken Liver Parfait which is looking much better than it did when it went in! Haven't made before and can't remember what it looked like when he was making it on the tv! Will report back after tasting.
Just out of the oven for Friday's Royal Wedding Party is Raymond Blanc's Chicken Liver Parfait which is looking much better than it did when it went in! Haven't made before and can't remember what it looked like when he was making it on the tv! Will report back after tasting.
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
Foodie TV!
No cooking in our house today, Duncan playing golf and late night at work for me.
Will be watching Masterchef but someone forgot to Sky+ Great British Menu for me :-(
Will be watching Masterchef but someone forgot to Sky+ Great British Menu for me :-(
Monday, 25 April 2011
Slow Roast Lamb with Aioli, Tomato Salsa & Flatbreads
This is a dish I've been cooking for quite a while, it's fab, really tasty and a nice alternative to Sunday roast, we had this for dinner last night. I got the recipe from UKTV Food and it's by Merrilees Parker.
Using a hand blender make a paste with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon each of ground ginger, cumin & coriander, 2 teaspoons each of turmeric & harissa, juice and zest of 1 unwaxed lemon, 1 bunch coriander stalks and a pinch of salt.
Place lamb shoulder on a large double sheet of foil, cut several incisions in lamb and rub paste all over. Spoon over 2 tablespoons water, wrap foil round lamb leaving a pocket of air, place in a roasting tray and roast for 4 hours at 170 degrees, open foil, baste lamb and cook for another hour. This timing was perfect for my average size lamb shoulder, probably wise to increase for large pieces, it needs to be falling off the bone.
For the tomato salsa, finely chop tomatoes, shallots parsley and coriander leaves and mix with lime juice and olive oil. The original recipe has homemade aioli but frankly there's somethings I'd rather buy or not quite so cheating, roast a whole bulb of garlic with the meat for the last hour, squeeze the soft garlic into a good quality mayonnaise.
Shred the lamb and serve on warm flatbreads or flour tortillas with the salsa and aioli.
Using a hand blender make a paste with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon each of ground ginger, cumin & coriander, 2 teaspoons each of turmeric & harissa, juice and zest of 1 unwaxed lemon, 1 bunch coriander stalks and a pinch of salt.
Place lamb shoulder on a large double sheet of foil, cut several incisions in lamb and rub paste all over. Spoon over 2 tablespoons water, wrap foil round lamb leaving a pocket of air, place in a roasting tray and roast for 4 hours at 170 degrees, open foil, baste lamb and cook for another hour. This timing was perfect for my average size lamb shoulder, probably wise to increase for large pieces, it needs to be falling off the bone.
For the tomato salsa, finely chop tomatoes, shallots parsley and coriander leaves and mix with lime juice and olive oil. The original recipe has homemade aioli but frankly there's somethings I'd rather buy or not quite so cheating, roast a whole bulb of garlic with the meat for the last hour, squeeze the soft garlic into a good quality mayonnaise.
Shred the lamb and serve on warm flatbreads or flour tortillas with the salsa and aioli.
In the oven ........................
The Sachertorte is in the oven!
Apparently it improves with time and can be made up to 7 days ahead.
I'll not post the recipe until after Friday when it will have been tried and tested but it's certainly smelling and looking good.
Apparently it improves with time and can be made up to 7 days ahead.
I'll not post the recipe until after Friday when it will have been tried and tested but it's certainly smelling and looking good.
Sunday, 24 April 2011
Royal Wedding - Puddings!
As you all know William & Kate are getting married on Friday. Those of you who know Jill (Coleman) will know that if there's an excuse to get dressed up she will find it! Jill is hosting a Royal Wedding/Birthday Party (she's 21 again on the 3rd May) and I feel priviliged to have been chosen to be the provider of puddings!
Watch this space for some lovely recipes - already tried and tested Mango & Passion Fruit Pavlova, yet to be tested Sachertorte and Raspberry & Thyme Custard Tart.
I'll also be trying for the first time Raymond Blanc's Chicken Liver Parfait.
For the men who will arrive later in the day my contribution will be Green Chicken Biryani - this is very tried and tested and a real crowd pleaser - hope you will try it.
Watch this space for some lovely recipes - already tried and tested Mango & Passion Fruit Pavlova, yet to be tested Sachertorte and Raspberry & Thyme Custard Tart.
I'll also be trying for the first time Raymond Blanc's Chicken Liver Parfait.
For the men who will arrive later in the day my contribution will be Green Chicken Biryani - this is very tried and tested and a real crowd pleaser - hope you will try it.
Shortbread
This is a recipe I've tried and tested only today. My mum made great shortbread but the last few years have found me trying and failing to make shortbread that the Scottish bloke I live with will approve of - today I achieved it - Happy Days! Happy Duncan :-)
Soften 240g of unsalted butter, add 120g caster sugar and mix with wooden spoon, just to blend together, don't work too much. Add 240g plain flour and 120g semolina, sifted, mix until combined.
Roll out to 23cm round 12mm thick, crimp edges, mark into 8 pieces (thats what the recipe said - I did 12) and prick all over with fork to prevent rising.
Place on Baking paper and chill in fridge for 20mins.
Heat oven and baking tray to 140 C, transfer shortbread on baking paper to heated baking tray and bake for 55mins - don't let it brown!
Remove from oven, slide palette knife under shortbread, leave to cool completely and cut into segments.
Perfect shortbread to eat with tea, strawberries and cream, whatever - just enjoy!
Soften 240g of unsalted butter, add 120g caster sugar and mix with wooden spoon, just to blend together, don't work too much. Add 240g plain flour and 120g semolina, sifted, mix until combined.
Roll out to 23cm round 12mm thick, crimp edges, mark into 8 pieces (thats what the recipe said - I did 12) and prick all over with fork to prevent rising.
Place on Baking paper and chill in fridge for 20mins.
Heat oven and baking tray to 140 C, transfer shortbread on baking paper to heated baking tray and bake for 55mins - don't let it brown!
Remove from oven, slide palette knife under shortbread, leave to cool completely and cut into segments.
Perfect shortbread to eat with tea, strawberries and cream, whatever - just enjoy!
WELCOME!
Hello and welcome to my new blog which is all about food!
I can't believe it's 30 years since I went to college to 'study' Home Economics!
Whilst I loved my time at college learning to cook and present beautiful food, I fell by the wayside and my working life took me down an entirely different path than I intended at that time.
Over the years I have taken the easy way out - convenience meals - because I didn't have time, takeaways - because I didn't have time, eating out -beacause I didn't have time!!!
Cooking is a bit like the gym, yes it's hard to find time but you can find the time if you really want!
The last few years I've rekindled my love of cooking - and the gym (essential if you want to eat nice food!) and have tried and tested lots of great recipes.
I know many of my friends also love cooking, the process of selecting a recipe, shopping for ingredients, being in the kitchen and feeding family and friends.
What seems to be difficult for many is the mundane Monday to Friday meals. Dinner parties, Birthday parties are exciting and enjoyable to plan for but everyday meals are a bit more laborious.
My blog will bring you a selection of everything. Monday to Friday mundane, Weekend sharing food with friends, Dinner Party and Celebration food, Baking - I just love baking but know I will have to spend time at the gym if I eat cake!
I hope you will enjoy, try my tried and tested recipes and please share your own by emailing me ggh0806@googlemail.com - I'll post as many contributions as I can.
Look forward to sharing your foody experiences.
Gail xx
I can't believe it's 30 years since I went to college to 'study' Home Economics!
Whilst I loved my time at college learning to cook and present beautiful food, I fell by the wayside and my working life took me down an entirely different path than I intended at that time.
Over the years I have taken the easy way out - convenience meals - because I didn't have time, takeaways - because I didn't have time, eating out -beacause I didn't have time!!!
Cooking is a bit like the gym, yes it's hard to find time but you can find the time if you really want!
The last few years I've rekindled my love of cooking - and the gym (essential if you want to eat nice food!) and have tried and tested lots of great recipes.
I know many of my friends also love cooking, the process of selecting a recipe, shopping for ingredients, being in the kitchen and feeding family and friends.
What seems to be difficult for many is the mundane Monday to Friday meals. Dinner parties, Birthday parties are exciting and enjoyable to plan for but everyday meals are a bit more laborious.
My blog will bring you a selection of everything. Monday to Friday mundane, Weekend sharing food with friends, Dinner Party and Celebration food, Baking - I just love baking but know I will have to spend time at the gym if I eat cake!
I hope you will enjoy, try my tried and tested recipes and please share your own by emailing me ggh0806@googlemail.com - I'll post as many contributions as I can.
Look forward to sharing your foody experiences.
Gail xx
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